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Motif In The Alchemist

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“The boy’s name was Santiago” (Coelho 3) was the first and last sentence to ever mention the protagonist’s name in The Alchemist. In this novel by Paulo Coelho, the reader follows the journey of an Andalusian shepherd named Santiago, to find his Personal Legend. Along the way of his journey he encounters several people that help him in his search of his Personal Legend. These people include a Gypsy woman that interprets his dream, a mysterious old man that calls himself “The King of Salem”, and a 200 year old alchemist. After reading Part One of The Alchemist, the reader can conclude that the motif of it is that you must lose something in order to move forward in life through the author’s use of quotes. For instance, this motif is first demonstrated in the beginning of Part One of The Alchemist. The quote: “But I want one-tenth of the treasure, if you find it” (Coelho 14) supports the motif. In this section, Santiago consults a Gypsy to interpret his dream that has reoccurred for a second time. The dream turned out to be his Personal Legend of finding treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. However, in return for interpreting his dream, the Gypsy demanded a payment of one-tenth of …show more content…

The quote: “Give me one-tenth of your sheep, and I’ll tell you how to find the hidden treasure” (Coelho 20) also supports the motif. In this section, the Santiago speaks to a mysterious old man that knows where to find the Santiago’s Personal Legend. At first Santiago is suspicious of the old man, but changes his mind set when the old man reveals his knowledge about Santiago’s personal life. Santiago reluctantly ponders on his decision on whether to give the old man his sheep or not. In the end, Santiago sacrifices a tenth of his sheep. If he did not sacrifice his sheep, then he would never have found out where his Personal Legend was and never reach

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